Great Toddler Party Games And Activities!

Whether you are celebrating a little tot's b-day or just getting the little guys and gals together for a play date, you can't go wrong when you have at the ready some fun toddler games to play. To start you out on the right foot, I've put together a selection of games that my son used to like to play many moons ago.

As you will soon discover, there are numerous options from which to select. Just to name a few, whether you are interested in games that have a focus on bubbles, stories, music, nursery rhymes, animals, balls, or treasure, we have got you covered. Just start scrolling to whatever area you think might be of interest and you will be good to go!

TODDLER PARTY GAMES - BUBBLE FUN

- Toddlers just love bubbles, so bubble games make a great addition to any toddler birthday party. Not only are bubble games fun for younger kids, but bubble games are so much fun for all the adults to watch. For plenty of bubble fun, these toddler party games are sure to be a huge hit!

COLORFUL BUBBLE PAINTING ART – Before the party, take several bottles of bubbles and add just a little food coloring to them. Make sure you play this game outside. Tape pieces of paper to a wall or fence outside and make sure that every child has their own paper. Then, let toddlers have fun blowing different colored bubbles at their piece of paper. When the bubbles pop on the paper, they’ll leave the coloring behind, helping kids create a unique piece of bubble art. Let kids take their bubble painting art home with them.

BUBBLE CATCHING GAME – Have several adults blow lots of bubbles. Give the toddlers their own bubble wand. As the adult blows all the bubbles, have toddlers dash around trying to catch bubbles. See who can catch the most bubbles on the same wand, stacking them up without breaking them.

DODGE THE BUBBLE GAME – Another of the fun bubble toddler party games is the dodge the bubble game. Have half the toddlers line up on one line and the other half will stand on a line 5-10 feet away. One side will have bubbles and will begin blowing bubbles at the other team, trying to make the bubbles hit them. If a bubble touches a person, they are out and they have to trade places with the person who blew the bubble. Keep going until everyone has a chance to play on both sides.

Toddler Party
Games

BUBBLE POPPING WITH NO HANDS – You’ll need several adults to blow bubbles for this game too. Toddlers should be instructed to pop all the bubbles they can – however, they cannot use their hands to pop the bubbles. They can use their knees, feet, elbows, head or legs, as long as they don’t use their hands.

BATTLE THE BUBBLES GAME – Along with a couple bottles of bubbles, you’ll need enough foam swords for each toddler to have one. When party helpers start blowing the bubbles (or you could use a bubble machine), toddlers have to use their sword to battle the bubbles, popping them with the sword.

WATER BALLOON TOSS - Partner up the toddlers and have them try to gently toss a water balloon to their partner. If they're really young they can just have them toss it to each other where they stand. If they are an older toddler, then you might to have them take a step backwards after each toss.

TODDLER PARTY GAMES - MISCELLANEOUS

- Are you looking for toddler party games that are age-appropriate? These miscellaneous toddler party games fit well into any toddler party, no matter what theme you choose.

HIDE AND SEEK - To start the game, have the birthday toddler be "It." Have all the other toddlers go hide Parents can help them find "good" hiding places or hide with them in case a toddler doesn't want to be left alone. Meanwhile, "It" will slowly count to 10 with the help of a parent and then yell, "Ready or not, here I come!" The last person to be discovered shall be "It." If "It" has trouble finding the hiding toddlers, feel free to give them clues.

RED ROVER, RED, ROVER - Split the toddlers into 2 teams and have each team hold hands with their teammates. Have the first team call out, "Red rover, red rover, send [name of player on opposite team] right over."

The person called out shall run to the other line and try to break through 2 players' hands (link) to be able to stay on their own team. If they don't break the chain, then they must join the other team. When only 1 player is left on a team, they must try and break through a link. If they don't succeed, the other team wins.

HIDDEN TREASURE - Hide various items and have the toddlers search for them. Also, give the toddlers an opportunity to hide the items and let the adults look for them.

BALL TOSS - Line up some pails and have the toddlers take turns trying to toss the balls into the pails. You can also use laundry baskets with larger balls.

FOLLOW THE LEADER PARACHUTE STYLE - Use either a large piece of fabric or a sheet as the parachute. An adult serves as the leader and the toddlers do as the leader commands. For example:

"Walk" - Everyone holds onto the parachute and walks around in a circle.

"Touch the floor" - Everyone puts their end of the parachute down to the ground.

"Touch the sky" - Everyone brings their end of the parachute up as high as they can go.

"Wave" - Everyone flaps the parachute in the air.

"Go Under" - Everyone gets under the parachute.

"Run" - Everyone holds onto the parachute and runs around in a circle.

FOLLOW THE LEADER MUSICAL STYLE - You’ll need some fun toddler tunes for this game. Make a great playlist ahead of time. Then, when you start the game, crank up the toddler tunes. Have an adult “lead” the game and the toddlers will need to follow exactly what the leader does while the music is playing. Some fun activities the leader can incorporate into the game include:

Rubbing your tummy

Touching the toes

Touching the floor

Crawling like a crab

Standing on your tip toes

Rubbing your head

Marching in place

Waving hands in the air

Touch your nose

Touch the top of your head

Touch your knees

Touch an elbow

Reach up

Reach down

Wiggle your fingers

Shake your hands

Roll over

Sitting down

Standing up

Flying like a bird

Bark like a dog

Meow like a cat

TODDLER PARTY GAMES WITH A STORY TIME TWIST

- Once you wear out your young guests, it’s nice to have some toddler party games that will calm them down. Story time games are perfect and toddlers love being told stories or even helping tell a story. Try one of these story time toddler party games before you serve the food.

STORY TIME WITH SIDEWALK CHALK – Head outside for this story time game. Pick a fun story that is age appropriate for your guests. Make sure each child has an area of sidewalk where they can draw. Put out a big bucket of sidewalk chalk. As you read the story, have kids draw pictures to go with the story on the sidewalk. It allows kids to interact with the story.

ACT OUT A STORY – Choose a fun story that has a lot of action. Have the toddlers stand up during the game. Start reading the story and have toddlers act out the game as you read the story. However, tell them they aren’t allowed to talk or make noises – they have to act out the story with their actions alone.

PUPPET STORYTIME – Pick a story that only has a few characters in it. Before the party, make puppets for each character. Have some adults help you with this activity. One adult should read the story while the other adults use the puppets to act out the story for the kids. Kids will enjoy watching the puppets as they act out the children’s story.

CREATE A STORY GAME – This game allows your young guests to get involved in the story telling, which they are sure to enjoy. To start the game, have the leader begin with a sentence for the story. For example, the adult/leader could get the story started by saying an opening line, such as “In a land far far away there was a princess name Anna.” Then, the leader points to a child and has them come up with the next sentence for the story. Continue having kids take turn adding to the story until everyone is able to add a sentence. At the end, the leader can end the game with the final sentence. You’re sure to end up with an interesting story.

NURSERY RHYME NONSENSE – You will need a story that involves a well-known nursery rhyme, such as “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” However, instead of reading the story/rhyme exactly, the reader adds words that do not belong in the story. For example, you could read, “Mary had a little monkey.” Have the kids try to catch the mistakes made while you read the story. Kids will enjoy correcting the reader’s errors as they read through the story and this game will definitely have everyone giggling and having fun.

TODDLER PARTY GAMES - MUSICAL ACTION SONGS

Toddlers love to sing and imitate those around them. When you add music to the mix, they are drawn to it like bees to honey. To work out extra energy, have the toddlers sit in a circle so they can easily see the leader. For the following toddler games, have each of their parents nearby so they can help their child with the words and movements.

I'M A LITTLE TEAPOT

I'm a little teapot
Short and stout
Here is my handle (Put one hand on hip),
Here is my spout (Put other arm out straight).

When I get all steamed up,
Hear me shout,
Just tip me over and pour me out! (Lean over toward spout)

FIVE LITTLE DUCKS

5 little ducks went out one day (Flap arms and waddle)
Over the hills and far away, (Wave hand over the hill)
Mommy (daddy) duck said Quack! Quack! Quack! (Make quack movements with hands and quack sound with mouth)
But only 4 little ducks came back. (Flap arms and waddle)

4 little ducks went out one day (Flap arms and waddle)
Over the hills and far away, (Wave hand over the hill)
Mommy (daddy) duck said Quack! Quack! Quack! (Make quack movements with hands and quack sound with mouth)
But only 3 little ducks came back. (Flap arms and waddle)

3 little ducks went out one day (Flap arms and waddle)
Over the hills and far away, (Wave hand over the hill)
Mommy (daddy) duck said Quack! Quack! Quack! (Make quack movements with hands and quack sound with mouth)
But only 2 little ducks came back. (Flap arms and waddle)

2 little ducks went out one day (Flap arms and waddle)
Over the hills and far away, (Wave hand over the hill)
Mommy (daddy) duck said Quack! Quack! Quack! (Make quack movements with hands and quack sound with mouth)
But only 1 little ducks came back. (Flap arms and waddle)

1 little ducks went out one day (Flap arms and waddle)
Over the hills and far away, (Wave hand over the hill)
Mommy (daddy) duck said Quack! Quack! Quack! (Make quack movements with hands and quack sound with mouth)
But no little ducks came back. (Flap arms and waddle)

HEAD, SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES

Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
And eyes and ears and mouth and nose.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.

Put both hands on part of body as they are mentioned. Keep repeating verse and speeding up each you do.

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout. (Alternate touching the thumb of one hand to the index finger of the other.)

Down came the rain, and washed the spider out. (Hold both hands up and wiggle the fingers as you lower the hands.)

Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain. (Bring both hands up and then to the sides to sweep out a semicircle [the sun]. then wiggle the fingers upwards to show the rain drying in the sun.)

And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again. (Alternate touching the thumb of one hand to the index finger of the other.)

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS

The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. The wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town.

Substitute the following:

The wipers on the bus go Swish, swish, swish...
The horn on the bus goes Beep, beep, beep...
The money in the box goes Clink, clink, clink...
The driver on the bus says, "Move on back..."
The baby on the bus says "Wah, wah, wah..."
The mommy on the bus says, "Shush, shush, shush..."
The doors on the bus go open and shut...
The bell on the bus goes Ding, ding, ding...
The lady on the bus says, "Get off my feet"...
The people on the bus say, "We had a nice ride..."
"Your name" on the bus says, Let Me Off!...

TODDLER PARTY GAMES - NURSERY RHYME SEE AND SAY

For hundreds of years, toddlers have loved to recite nursery rhymes. When you add objects relating to the rhyme for them to handle, it makes all the fun come alive. Have the toddlers sit in a semi-circle so they can easily see the leader. For the following toddler party games, have each of their parents nearby so they can help their child with the words and keep the objects moving. The following are just a few examples of toddler party games that are appropriate for this age:

TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!

As the toddlers recite this rhyme, have them pass stars to one another. You can make them from card stock decorated with glitter glue.

MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

As the toddlers recite this rhyme, have them pass silver bells and cockle shells (clam shells) to one another.

Your story will appear on a Web page exactly the way you enter it here. You can wrap a word in square brackets to make it appear bold. For example [my story] would show as my story on the Web page containing your story.

TIP: Since most people scan Web pages, include your best thoughts in your first paragraph.

Toddler party games are a great way To create a great party. Just remember to have enough adults to help out, plan your time accordingly, and implement a good mix of toddler party games for a well-rounded affair.